Certain selected chemicals associated with terrorist activities are too unstable to be prepared in a final form. These selected chemicals are often prepared as precursor components, to be combined at a time immediately preceding a time of application of the selected chemical. An example is a liquid explosive, which usually requires provision of an oxidizer, an energy source and a chemical or physical mechanism to combine the other components at a time immediately preceding detonation. Detection of presence of the oxidizer (e.g., H2O2) or the energy source (e.g., nitromethane) is often possible but must be performed in a short time interval (e.g., 5-15 sec) and in an environment with a very small concentration (e.g., 1-100 ppm), because the target chemical(s) is present in a sealed container.
What is needed is a system that allows detection of presence of a target oxidizer and/or a target energizer in small concentrations (as small as 1 ppm) in a relatively small time interval, preferably no more than about 5-15 sec. Preferably, the system should allow detection of at least one oxidizer and of at least one energizer, substantially simultaneously, should operate with a relatively small “footprint” in a real life environment, and should operate with only a small energy expenditure.